Matthew Risman

Contents

Biography

Purify

Trained sniper, Matthew Risman was in the middle of a hit when he suddenly received a call telling him to return to his home. Leaving his target, Risman rushed home, dragging his wife and daughter from their home seconds before a mountainside collapsed on it, completely obliterating it. As the trio looked at their damaged home, the man who had informed Risman of the coming disaster, William Stryker, appeared. Convincing Risman that he had access to future events, Stryker recruited Risman into the Purifiers, a group who believed it was their holy mission to eradicate the few mutants who remained following M-Day. Following events that Stryker foresaw while tapping into a damaged Nimrod's memory of the future, Stryker and the Purifiers began slaughtering mutants and ex-mutants, attempting to alter the future seen by Nimrod to one where the Purifiers triumphed during their assault on the Xavier Institute. Due to a switch between X-23 and Dust, the Purifiers believed they'd eliminated the correct mutants, allowing them to triumph. Surprised by the switch, the Purifiers were defeated, Stryker was killed, and Risman was left horribly scarred by an angry Dust. Calling Stryker a martyr, Risman has taken up leadership of the Purifiers and is ready to continue his war on mutant-kind.

Messiah Complex

Cyclops sent Rictor to act as a spy on the group. Then Surge lead a team of New X-Men consisting of Anole, Armor, Hellion, Mercury, Rockslide, and X-23. During the battle, many Purifiers were hurt. Hellion was almost killed by Lady Deathstrike. Then the New X-Men bailed out, but were spread between Washington and the Mansion. Risman then sent the Reavers after Cable. When the New X-Men discovered the Purifiers' role in this, Surge led a squad to attack the Purifiers at their base, forcing X-Man mole Rictor to blow his cover. Hellion recognized and attacked Risman, but was stabbed through the chest by Lady Deathstrike, who Risman had hired, along with her Reavers, to help him kill the mutant child and the X-Men.

X-Force

After failing to kill the mutant messiah, Risman soon regrouped the Purifiers, and was able to resurrect Bastion to be a new adviser and prophet to the Purifiers. He quickly learned, however, that Bastion was basically forcing Risman out, having resurrected many prominent killers of mutants, including William Stryker, Bolivar Trask, Graydon Creed, and others, to form a new alliance to destroy mutantkind. Risman then sent out his new personal army, The Choir, to attack Bastion and his loyalists at a rally being led by the resurrected Stryker, finding Bastion as the only apparent survivor. Risman claimed that Bastion and those he resurrected were not human and that the unholy abominations must be destroyed. But before he could stop Bastion Archangel arrived searching for those who took his wings. During the commotion cause by Archangel and the arriving X-Force, Risman went after Magus but was surprised to find Eli Bard absorbing part of Magus. Risman tried to shoot Eli but failed and was captured but before Eli was able to feed, Risman was shot in the head by X-23.